US slaps Chinese wind towers with import duties

The Commerce Dept.’s International Trade Administration has announced that duties of 13.7 to 26 percent will be imposed on Chinese wind-turbine towers imported into the United States, the New York Times reported.

The move follows the US Commerce Dept.’s preliminary ruling yesterday that Chinese manufacturers of the steel towers, used in wind farms, received unfair subsidies from the Chinese government, Reuters reported.

It’s a big fee as the towers, which can stand as tall as 300 feet, can cost as much as $600,000 each, the New York Times reported.

Chinese officials reacted with dismay. "Readily resorting to protectionist measures is not conducive to China and the US continuing to cooperate in the trade and economic fields," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters in Beijing, according to Reuters.

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Earlier this month, the Commerce Dept. said that it will seek to slap tariffs ranging from 31 percent to 250 percent on solar panels imported from China.

Last week, China filed a complaint against US anti-subsidy and anti-dumping practices with the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Bloomberg News reported.

The United States imported about $222 million worth of wind towers from China in 2011, Reuters reported.

The US International Trade Commission will vote in September on whether to allow the duties, Reuters reported.